Spanish Teenager Under Investigation for AI-Generated Nude Images of Classmates

Spanish teenager investigated over AI naked images of classmates

MADRID, July 27 (Reuters) - Spanish police said on Sunday they were investigating a 17-year-old on suspicion of using artificial intelligence to deepfake nude images of female classmates for sale. Sixteen young women at an educational institute in Valencia, in southeastern Spain, complained about the AI-generated images of them which were circulating on social media and online. In December, a teenage girl complained to police that AI-generated video and faked photos resembling her "completely naked" were posted on a social media account started under her name. "Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked," the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement on Sunday. A 17-year-old boy is under investigation for alleged corruption of minors. The Spanish government said in March said it would put forward a law to treat such deepfaked sexual imagery created by AI without consent as a crime but the bill has so far not been passed by parliament. In September 2023, Spain was shocked when 15 minors in Extremadura, in southwest Spain, were investigated for using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates. They were later sentenced to a year's probation. Reporting by Graham Keeley; editing by Giles Elgood Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Spanish teenager investigated on suspicion of creating AI-generated nude videos

Modified images of minors appear on social media account allegedly owned by 17-year-old Police in eastern Spain are investigating a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of using artificial intelligence to create and share fake nude images of his female schoolmates that he intended to sell online. Guardia Civil officers in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia began investigating in December last year after a female student reported the creation of a social media account in her name that featured an AI-generated video. Guardia Civil said in a statement on Sunday: "Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked." The same girl reported a second social media account in her name, as well as other accounts that showed AI-generated nude videos, and a webpage devoted to advertising the images for commercial purposes. After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints, officers began to suspect the person behind the faked images and videos was one of the girls' schoolmates. By trawling social media posts, contacting hosting companies and examining a website advertising AI image modification services, police picked up the trail of the suspect. Guardia Civil said: "Officers obtained user and access information used on these platforms - including IP addresses - which led to the home of one of the complainants' schoolmates. They also confirmed that the emails used to create the accounts belonged to the same person." The Guardia Civil said a 17-year-old boy was being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors, adding that a youth court in Valencia was overseeing the case. Last year, 15 minors in the south-western Spanish region of Extremadura were sentenced to a year's probation after being convicted of using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates, which they had shared on WhatsApp groups. The defendants were also ordered to attend classes on gender and equality awareness, and on the "responsible use of technology". The court said in a statement: "The sentence notes that it has been proved that the minors used artificial intelligence applications to obtain manipulated images of [other minors] by taking girls' original faces from their social media profiles and superimposing those images on the bodies of naked female bodies. The manipulated photos were then shared on two WhatsApp groups." The Malvaluna Association, which acted on behalf of the affected families, said the case had implications for wider Spanish society. "Beyond this particular trial, these facts should make us reflect on the need to educate people about equality between men and women," the association told the online newspaper ElDiario.es at the time. It said the case underlined the necessity of proper sex education at school so that children did not learn about sex from pornography, which "generates more sexism and violence". In March, Spain's socialist-led government said it was working on a law that would help protect young people online by treating internet grooming and the use of non-consensual AI-created sexual imagery as criminal offences.

17-Year-Old Boy Investigated Over AI-Generated Nude Videos of Classmates

A 17-year-old boy from Spain is being investigated by police on suspicion of using AI to create fake nude videos of his female schoolmates that he intended to sell online. Spanish police announced on Sunday that they are investigating the teenage boy after 16 female students at a school in Valencia, southeastern Spain, reported that AI-generated nude videos of them were being shared online and on social media. According to The Guardian, the investigation began in December last year when a female student reported a social media account created in her name that contained an AI-generated video. She later reported another account in her name, as well as other accounts featuring AI-generated nude videos and a website advertising the images for commercial purposes. After 15 more minors came forward with similar complaints, Guardia Civil officers in Valencia suspected that the person responsible for the fake images and videos was a fellow student. "Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked," the Guardia Civil says in a statement, according to The Guardian. Officers tracked the suspect by reviewing social media activity, contacting hosting companies, and examining a website offering AI image modification services. The Guardia Civil confirmed that a 17-year-old boy is under investigation for allegedly corrupting minors, and that a youth court in Valencia is handling the case. With the rapid rise of AI technology over the past two years, there have been multiple cases of high school students using widely available AI apps to create deepfake nude images of their female classmates. So-called "nudify" apps have surged in popularity, requiring only a single photo to generate a highly realistic nude image. These tools take a picture of a clothed person and digitally recreate what they might look like without clothes. In March 2024, two teenage boys in Miami, Florida, were arrested for allegedly producing deepfake nude images of their classmates -- believed to be the first U.S. case involving criminal charges for AI-generated sexual content. However, this recent case in Eastern Spain suggests this problem is escalating, with teens now using AI not only to create fake images but potentially also explicit deepfake videos. It comes after the Children's Commissioner in the U.K. -- a regulator responsible for safeguarding children's rights -- called for an immediate ban on AI apps that facilitate "deepfake sexual abuse of children."

Spanish Teenager Investigated Over AI Naked Images of Classmates

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish police said on Sunday they were investigating a 17-year-old on suspicion of using artificial intelligence to deepfake nude images of female classmates for sale. Sixteen young women at an educational institute in Valencia, in southeastern Spain, complained about the AI-generated images of them which were circulating on social media and online. In December, a teenage girl complained to police that AI-generated video and faked photos resembling her "completely naked" were posted on a social media account started under her name. "Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked," the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement on Sunday. A 17-year-old boy is under investigation for alleged corruption of minors. The Spanish government said in March said it would put forward a law to treat such deepfaked sexual imagery created by AI without consent as a crime but the bill has so far not been passed by parliament. In September 2023, Spain was shocked when 15 minors in Extremadura, in southwest Spain, were investigated for using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates. They were later sentenced to a year's probation. (Reporting by Graham Keeley; editing by Giles Elgood)

Spanish teenager investigated over AI naked images of classmates

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish police said on Sunday they were investigating a 17-year-old on suspicion of using artificial intelligence to deepfake nude images of female classmates for sale. Sixteen young women at an educational institute in Valencia, in southeastern Spain, complained about the AI-generated images of them which were circulating on social media and online. In December, a teenage girl complained to police that AI-generated video and faked photos resembling her "completely naked" were posted on a social media account started under her name. "Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account. All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked," the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement on Sunday. A 17-year-old boy is under investigation for alleged corruption of minors. The Spanish government said in March said it would put forward a law to treat such deepfaked sexual imagery created by AI without consent as a crime but the bill has so far not been passed by parliament. In September 2023, Spain was shocked when 15 minors in Extremadura, in southwest Spain, were investigated for using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates. They were later sentenced to a year's probation. (Reporting by Graham Keeley; editing by Giles Elgood)